We Have a Ghost review

Streaming review

When my kids were little, picking a movie was easy. Children are fairly easily entertained, so finding a movie that would hold their attention was not that hard. If it was something I might enjoy, all the better. However, when kids get into older elementary grades, finding something we could all agree on was a bit harder. They were too old to watch movies for little kids, but not old enough to follow plots or deal with inappropriate material in films for adults. The family movie genre is a tough one to crack. I was anxious to flip on Netflix to see if Christopher Landon’s “We Have a Ghost” would find that sweet spot. 

Frank Presley (Anthony Mackie) is moving his family into an old house in Chicago. While his son Kevin (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) is exploring the attic, he has an encounter with a ghost named Ernest (David Harbour). He shows the video to his parents, and his dad quickly sees it as a financial opportunity, by posting it to social media. Ernest becomes an overnight sensation, inviting scrutiny from people like medium Judy Romano (Jennifer Coolidge) to a secret government agency headed by Dr. Leslie Monroe (Tig Notaro). Meanwhile, Kevin and his friend Joy (Isabella Russo) just want to help Ernest find peace. 

The performances in this movie are solid. The young actors are all good, particularly Winston. Harbour doesn’t have any spoken lines, but he manages to convey a bevy of emotion throughout the movie simply through his expressions, taking us from menace to heartbreak to humor easily. And if we’re in the middle of a Jennifer Coolidge renaissance, I am totally here for it, because she brings a unique sense of humor to every role she is cast in.

The story is also well done. A father who wants to be able to provide for his family, but in so doing, he loses sight of what his family actually wants from him. The mystery surrounding Ernest’s death and why he is a ghost manages to avoid being too predictable, while also not being overly complicated. 

I felt like the story-line with Tig Notaro was a little bit muddled, and was the only part that didn’t work for me. The run time is just around two hours and I feel like if that thread had been cut, it would have tightened up the story and made the pacing just a little more snappy. It’s not bad, per se, it just doesn’t add anything but time to the movie.

This movie surprised me by being a genuinely fun and engaging family movie. It has some horror moments that are the perfect blend of funny and scary, harkening back to Michael Keaton in “Beetlejuice.” The action is good for younger viewers while still being engaging for adults. And there is a heartfelt story at its center. If you’re looking for a fun way to spend an afternoon with your kids, this could be it.

This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on March 4, 2023.